Staff at fast-growing cosmetics brand REFY have got rid of work phones to create a better work/life balance.
Emails on personal phones have also been deleted and the workforce are no longer using WhatsApp.
The move has been welcomed by the firm鈥檚 co-founder Jenna Meek, who launched the business in 2020 with social media influencer Jess Hunt.
Writing on LinkedIn she said: 鈥淚n November I deleted emails from my phone, and the reaction was 鈥榃OW that鈥檚 crazy, you鈥檙e the CEO of a pretty important business鈥�.
鈥淗as my business died because of this? Absolutely not, if anything nothing has changed. I still check my emails just not every second.
鈥淲ere my team shocked? Yes, absolutely. 聽I have been 24/7 available from the day I started my first business in 2017.
鈥淒id I feel uncomfortable? Yes, so badly. Did I think 鈥極MG people will think I don鈥檛 care?鈥� My team will think I have checked out, YES. I thought it all. Did I still do it? 鈥榊ES鈥�.聽 Why?鈥�
Meek, who was included in 老九品茶Cloud鈥檚 Northern Leaders list along with Hunt, explained: 鈥淚 have to be the one to feel uncomfortable to make that change so that everyone else can make the change without it feeling weird or uncomfortable. I take on those thoughts and worries so the team don鈥檛 have to.鈥�
she said: 鈥淭his week at REFY we are getting rid of work phones, no longer using WhatsApp, all emails on any personal phones need to be deleted
鈥淭he great part about this (was) this wasn鈥檛 my idea. The team thought of it and implemented. Could (it) be because I did it in November and made it feel totally acceptable and a normal thing to do? Who knows.
鈥淲e sell bronzer, we don鈥檛 save lives. Will report back if the business dies this time round.鈥�
Meek deleted her Gmail account in November from her personal phone for the first time in 12 years and said the change had been liberating.
She explained: 鈥淚 was addicted to checking my emails. I would wake up and reach for my phone to open Gmail and check them last thing at night from bed. I felt so much pressure to be available 24/7 and it was an obsession. The ironic thing was that the pressure was from myself and no one else.鈥�
The award-winning entrepreneur said the key was having a great team around her.
鈥淚 am more present when replying to emails and there is so much more value in my responses,鈥� she said. 鈥淣o longer do I replying to emails within one minute to show that I am online and on it. I dedicate time every day to reply to my emails and my responses are so much more considered.
鈥淚 have more time and mental capacity to pick up bigger projects. For the last 3-6 months I鈥檝e not been able to put pen to paper on some of these projects, but by dedicating set hours to emails I have conquered my mental block and allowed myself to focus on the bigger picture and what is important.
鈥淪peaking of what鈥檚 important, I am more present in my personal life. With less notifications on my personal phone I鈥檓 not glued to my screen every time I feel my phone buzz. Emails can wait and my family deserves my full attention.鈥�